The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 2 · Meditation 2
2. Seeke not that which is Gods, but God himselfe, if thou would possesse Gods blessing here, and heare that voice; Come thou blessed of my Father hereafter.
HOnest Paul clearing the sinceritie of his heart towards his Maister, and before the Corinthians Gods people, the puritie of that louelove wherewith he loued them, came from a renewed heart, and with a golden pen drew vp this worthie speech:1. cor. 12. 4. I seeke not yours but you. But, alas, ô my soule, may not our blessed God, looking downe from that highest mountaine of his glorie, vponupon a very world walking below here, euen vnderunder the light of the Gospell, complaining vponupon thousands, cry aloud and say: Ye seeke not me, but mine. Lift vp thy eares, ô my soule, and hearken. Can the couered Hipocrites of this our time, can the mercenarie slaues of this our time, either louelove God or his word, but as the greedie oxe loueth his owner, and as the filthie swine loueth his maister. Let the owner of the oxe fill his stall, his oxe shall then attend him carefully; let the maister of the swine fill his trough, so shall the swine follow him. While thy God, ô my soule, fatteth and stuffeth men of this world with honours, pleasures, wealth and health, then easily can they say, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Yea, then they can tone with a speciall triumph, albeit from a treacherous heart, with foule lippes, and for a shamelesse brutish end: that 1. verse of that most comfortable twentie third Psame. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the sight of my aduersaries: thou dost annoint my head with oyle, and my cup runneth ouer. So that these who at the first, and before triall do heare, and see them, would take them for one of a thousand, and so for men sincerely louing, and truly seeking, and seruing God: albeit in the meane time, neither God, nor Gods word can find so much as his countenance, but onelyonly when he hath his proud backe couered, and his foule bellie filled by him. When I reade the second of Hosea, I find that the whole gold, siluer, corne, wine, oyle, and wooll, in this world is Gods. When I reade the 76. Psalme, the 4. of Daniell, and the 5. of Daniell, I find that all the kingdomes of the earth are Gods, and that his onelyonly supremest Maiestie is the onelyonly giuer of maiestie, glorie, and honour, and ô how busily, alas, do men eueryevery where seeke after these things? Alwayes, I would here assure thee, ô my soule, that whosoeuer shall find these gifts of God, and finds not God with them, the giuer of them shall repent one day that euer he found them, as these alledged Scriptures may sufficiently resolue thee. When I reade the sixt of Iohn, I see my blessed Sa…iour, ô my soule, attended verie carefully, yea, followed from shore to shore: but busily and painefully be a very world of people, and what man beholding them (being sensible of that louelove, and reuerence, man should carie vntounto that holy one of God, Iesus blessed for euermore,) would not for this hauehave commended them? Alwayes when this multitude comes where Iesus is, and not without a speciall admiration demands him thus: Rabbi when camest thou hither. Hearken, hearken, ô my soule, how they are answered, euen by that sweetest Lambe, who had freely fed thē, powerfully wrought great workes before them, and graciously spoken many comfortable speeches to them. Verily, verily, ye seeke me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye eate of the loaues and were filled. I must here for necessitie beseech thee, ô my poore soule, not to cease to search out, and to trie narrowly, whith…r while thou appeares to others to be seeking and seruing thy God, thou art seeking him onelyonly in shew, to his offence, and to thy ouerthrow, or truly for himselfe to his hearts contentment and glorie, and to thy true weale and wealth, here and for euer. Hearken, hearken, ô my soule, for now I must tell thee, that the free honest seruant of God, who is also his kindly child, loues his God, loues the word of his God, not for honour, but for heauen; not for goods, and gaine, but for grace and glorie; and so not for his backe, and bellie, but for his soule; yea, but for his God whom he must louelove, and whom he cannot cease to louelove, albeit there were neither heauen after this to ease him, nor hell to grieue him for euer. And so in a word, Gods child loues him, not for any thing that is beneath here; but for his Maiestie who is aboue, & for these things which do ioyne him with him, and do conuey him vntounto him. Shall Iacob be content (his God being happily with him) to serue a verie churle for twentie one yeares, being consumed now with heate, now with cold, and hauing his wages changed ten times. And can it possibly grieue thee, ô my soule, with the best heart I hauehave, to seeke and serue thy blessed kind true God, all the dayes of my pilgrimage here, albeit he whippe me not with one, but with many scourges. It is an easie thing, ô my soule, yea, a very easie thing to a man, when his oxen are plowing, his sheepe and asses feeding, his corne growing, his summes of money layd downe before him, his table richly decked; and his children standing about it like oliue plants, then to beginne, and end his dinner and supper, with a grace, and with a Chapter of Gods booke read, yea, not to want his Psalme sung as if his priuate house were some publicke Temple. Yet I dare not denie, ô my soule, but it shall proue a very hard thing to manie, when their oxen and asses are stolen, their sheepe, and seruants consumed with fire, their whole children in one minute smothered, their owne hole and sicke bodies, turned in a sicke lumpe of boyles & so their rich table, changed into a bit of browne bread, and a drop of cold water; yea, their soft and well decked bed, in a hard and loathsome stinking midding, their dearest friends in the meane time being turned in deadly foes, their breath being vnsauorie to her, lay sometime in his bosome; and their speech being mocked euen by their owne seruants, then with Iob to crie not counterfeitly but from an honest heart, louing God, & reioycing in him euen in the middest of this hottest firie furnace. The Lord hath giuen, the Lord hath taken, blessed be the name of the Lord. Rouse vp, rouse vp, thy selfe therefore, ô my soule, & crying aloud, demand of thy selfe thus: Wherefore, wherefore, is it that I louelove my God, that I seeke my God, that I serue my God; wherefore is it that I countenance his word and Sacraments; yea, how long hauehave I resolued to louelove, to seeke, and to serue him, by countenancing his word and Sacraments, euen with pleasure. HaueHave I resolued onelyonly to do this while the hot faire Summer of bloming inriching prosperitie continueth, and so soone as that cold stormie Winter, of pinching and pricking aduersitie, shall approach me to renounce my God, and turne my backe vponupon his word & Sacraments, without the which he cannot be found, he cannot be kept. Not so, not so, I hope ô my soule, a verie small thing comforted thee, yea, contented Iacob: and shall not he who made all things, who giues all things, who commandeth all things, content thee; ô my soule? weighedst thou euer that 28. verse of the 45. of Genesis. And Israell said I hauehave enough, Ioseph my sonne is yet aliue, I will go and see him before I die. Shalt thou heare Iacob speaking thus, ô my soule, and shalt thou not crie out to the hearing of Angels and men, euen when thou art bereft with Iob of all earthly proppes and comforts, (if thou would not hauehave Iacob condemning thee euen to the lowest hells) I hauehave enough: God the Father my blessed Maker, God the Sonne, my kindest Sauiour, God the holy Ghost my sweetest and surest sanctifier, comforter and keeper, is yet aliue; his matter I hauehave seene alreadie by the eye of faith, in that glasse of the word, and mirrour of the Sacraments, in his chamber of presence beneath here, to my begunne life and comfort: and his Maiestie I shall hereafter see in the spite of all opposition, and aduersaries face to face, to the perfect consummation of my begunne life, and comfort in that highest Pallace of that heauen of heauens for euermore. Shall Paul account all blooming things, bitter things: all honouring things, shaming things: all enriching things, beggering things; all healing things wounding things: yea, life, death: and death, life: for the excellent knowledge of Iesus Christ his Sauiour. Yea, shall Paul well enlightened,Phil. 3. 7. 8. and directed, hold this one Iesus for his sole and sufficient treasure, and crie aloud, first, to the hearing of that Church of God at Philippi, and then to the hearing of all the world:Phil. 1. 21. Christ is to me, both in life and death aduantage. And shall not thou, ô my soule, heartfully content to be depriued of all things, to the end thou may be possessed with him; yea, content to want all other things, to the end thou hauehave him, and keepe him.